Computer Programming

The chief advantage of the digital computer is that it can be instructed to perform complex or repetitive arithmetical operations in a very short period of time. Any sequence of operations which can be fully analyzed can theoretically be done by a computer. The method of instruction takes the form of various precisely defined computer languages. The programs to be discussed here were written in a Fortran language, Fortran being a contraction of Formula Translation. There are at least four variations of Fortran, but the differences are relatively minor. Fortran is basically intended for scientific and engineering purposes. The programs discussed here were in one case the calculation of electron density in an atomic orbital, and in the other three cases methods of solving systems of equations. No programs are attached to this paper, as they are rather long and not self-explanatory, and were turned in separately